This application relates to the field of software applications for analyzing, monitoring, and configuring data networks. Managing local or wide area data networks with hundreds or thousands of users is a challenging task. Users and computer systems are often constantly being added or removed from the data network. Additionally, even minor configuration changes, software upgrades, and equipment failures can dramatically impact the accessibility and functionality of all or large portions of the data network.
Wireless data networks, such as wireless local area networks implemented with the 802.11 networking standards, have become increasingly popular for enterprises. Wireless data networks enable users to connect with the data network anywhere within a network coverage area. Wireless data networks present unique management and monitoring challenges. Unlike wired network connections, wireless network connections frequently change over time. Wireless network users often connect and disconnect from the wireless data network. Additionally, wireless network users can roam over the network converage area, connecting with the wireless data network from different physical locations via different wireless access points. Radio interference can break or inhibit wireless network connections. Unauthorized stations and rogue access points can appear at unpredictable times. Moreover, wireless network connections are invisible, making physical inspection of the wireless network connection impossible.
Traditional network monitoring software applications often fail to meet the needs of network administrators. Many network monitoring software applications are capable of logging network events; however, it is difficult or impossible for administrators to deduce the state of the entire network from log data. Moreover, these network monitoring software applications often fail to provide a way to observe changes to the state of the data network over time.
Many network monitoring software applications are tailored to specific types or brands of networking equipment and little or no ability to monitor additional types of networking equipment. Furthermore, network monitoring software applications often have a fixed user interface that cannot be easily tailored to the needs of a specific data network.
Additionally, network monitoring software applications often lack specialized features, such as radio coverage analysis and rogue access point detection, required to effectively administrate wireless data networks. There are specialized applications that can provide these features for wireless data networks; however, these are often standalone applications that are not integrated with network monitoring software applications.
It is therefore desirable for a system and method to monitor a data network and enable observation of the state of the data network in the present time or any arbitrary previous time. It is further desirable for the system and method to be easily expanded to interface with different types of networking equipment. It is also desirable for the system and method to enable the implementation of custom user interfaces and visulizations of network data. It is also desirable for the system and method to provide monitoring, analysis, and configuration features adapted to wireless data networks.